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BOOT CAMP 177 (31/05//01)
SHAREWARE AND FREEWARE
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS – part 3
In the third and final instalment on this short series on
shareware and freeware we have five more programs that you and your PC simply
cannot live without… If this is your first time downloading programs from the
Internet I strongly urge you to have a look at parts one and two, which explain
how to access, file, unzip and install programs on your PC. You should also make sure you have an up to
date virus scanner on your PC, like AVG Antivirus, which was featured in last
week's Boot Camp.
Don't forget, if you download and continue to use any
shareware programs you should play the game and pay the licence fee, and one
last word of warning, we cannot provide any advice or support for these
programs, which you use entirely at your own risk.
ALDO'S MACRO, Windows 9x & ME
http://www.aldostools.com/macro.html
Freeware, 30kb
How much time do you waste each day doing repetitive tasks on
your PC? Muting the volume when the phone rings is a typical example. First you
have to manoeuvre the mouse pointer onto the tiny loudspeaker icon in the System
Tray, click, wait, then click again and all the while your life is ebbing away…
What you need is a macro, a simple little program that automates any job
involving number of actions using the
mouse and keyboard, including Ctrl, Alt and Shift combinations. Aldo's Macro
works on any Windows program and it is incredibly easy to use. Just set it to
record by pressing the Scroll Lock key, do whatever it is you do then click
scroll lock again to stop recording. Give your newly created macro a name and
now all of the actions you just made can be repeated with a single press of the
F12 key. It can record up to ten macros, the file is tiny, a mere 30kb, so it
downloads in just a few seconds, and best of all it is absolutely free!
FROGGY v1.0, Windows 9x, NT & 2000
http://www.froggy.cc/
Freeware,
1.3Mb
What's the weather doing today? Of course you could always look out of
the window but where's the fun in that? If you install Froggy the weather frog
on your PC not only will he tell you the weather for your locality but at the
click of a mouse you can find out what's happening in more than 700 cities
around the world – handy if you're about to go on holiday. Froggy updates its
weather database every time you log on to the Internet. The thumbnail report
includes temperature (Celsius or Fahrenheit) and general conditions and you also
get an instant appraisal from Froggy, who appears on your desktop, on his
ladder. The higher up he is the better the weather, and for good measure he
comes with accompanying croaking sound effects. Froggy can be set to load
automatically with Windows, if you like he will disappear as soon as your mouse
pointer comes close, or stay in the background until summoned. The Froggy web
site also includes two frog-oriented interactive games (Reverse and Mastermind),
to while away those rainy days.
REAL PLAYER 8 BASIC, Windows 9x, ME, NT, 200, Max, Unix
http://www.real.com/
Freeware, 4.7 to 13Mb
Real Player has become the standard media player for Windows,
able to handle a wide range of streaming audio and video formats and it is still
the first choice for a lot of Internet users, and that is in spite of the recent
appearance of Microsoft's rival (and still buggy) Windows Media Player 7.
Several versions of Real Player are available and all of them are very good but
the free to download Basic Player 8 has more than enough functionality for most
people, however it can be hard to find. Look for the Free Download button on the
home page, and then click the RealPlayer 8 Basic link (blink and you'll miss
it), on the page that appears. Installation is very simple and once it is on
your PC it will open automatically and play or display files whenever you click
on a relevant Internet page or link. RealPlayer will also let you listen to the
thousands of radio stations on the Internet, view movies and listen to your
collection of MP3 files. Another 'must-have' program for all Internet connected
PCs.
SMARTCLOCK, Windows 9x, ME & NT
http://home.worldonline.cz/~cz057881/
Freeware, 62kb
The standard Windows clock is a sorry little affair, lurking
in a corner of the System Tray and you need a magnifying glass to see it. Smart
Clock adds a big bold clock (or a small discrete one) to your desktop with an
analogue or digital display. You can choose from a variety of styles and
customise the colours and fonts and place it anywhere on the screen. It will
vanish as soon as your mouse pointer touches it, so it won't interfere or
obscure what's on the screen. It is highly configurable; you can switch the
seconds function on and off and set 12 or 24-hour format and an AM/PM indicator.
Best of all it has a built-in single-event 24-hour alarm with variable snooze
facility that can be configured to display an on-screen message and play a sound
(it comes with a Klaxon), you can record your own or use a custom sound. Just
the thing to wake you up after a long lunch…
ZONEALARM, Windows 9x & ME
www.zonelabs.com
Freeware, 1.6Mb
Did you know that whilst you are on-line it is possible for
others to 'hack' into your computer, read files and possibly gain access to
personal or sensitive data like passwords and PIN numbers? Although the risk is
relatively small for a normal short-term dial-up connection, as more of us start
using 'always-on' and high-speed Internet services like ADSL it can become a
real threat. ZoneAlarm is an advanced 'Firewall' program that restricts access
to your PC, both from outside interference, and from 'Trojans' and programs on
your PC that connect to the Internet without your permission. ZoneAlarm loads
automatically and operates behind the scenes, checking incoming emails for
viruses and worms and as soon as it detects an unauthorised connection – from or
to your PC -- a warning flashes up on the screen, alerting your to the fact, and
in the case of an outside intrusion, it displays the IP address of the attacker,
and the facility to go on to the Internet and see where it is coming from. It's
the sort of program you'd happily pay for, but there's no need, it's completely
free!
Next week – Camcorders and Computers
JARGON FILTER
ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line -- high speed digital
connection using existing telephone lines. ADSL has the facility to be “always
on”, so there is no need to dial up a connection
STREAMING
Technique used to send sound and pictures over the Internet.
Data is 'buffered' or stored in a temporary memory by player software on the PC
to minimise the interruptions that would otherwise occur as data on the net is
sent in chunks or 'packets'.
TROJAN
Program on a PC that allows unauthorised access to files
whilst on line
TOP TIP
One of the most annoying tricks webs site pull is to open
multiple browser windows, and 'pop-ups' usually without so much as a by your
leave. This can happen very quickly and in some cases they open faster than you
can close them, or they open in 'Kiosk' mode, where there's no close or minimise
icons to click on. The trick is to use the Windows shortcut Ctrl + W to close
them quickly, one, by one. You could also use the Alt+F4 shortcut, but it's more
of a stretch and there's the danger that if you get a bit careless you might
shut another program down as well
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